‘German Wilders’ attacks Islam

Just like Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, a politician has appeared in Germany who is warning against “a tsunami of Islamisation.” His name is Udo Ulfkotte, a former journalist who has often made appearances on German Television programmes as an expert on Islam. But Mr Ulfkotte has turned over a new leaf. He is working on the formation of a political party. A party that is to defend Christian values in Germany and Europe against what he regards as the increasing influence of radical Islam.

Cheers go up when Udo Ulfkotte declares: “I am not with the left, I am not with the right, I am with the Lord God”He casts his eyes upward. Mr Ulfkotte is a confirmed Christian, but one who belongs to a movement that believes living together with Muslims is practically impossible. “European values are those of the Judeo-Christian tradition: peace, freedom, democracy and tolerance.”

“Muslims are different, they are from a different tradition. This is clearly demonstrated at many schools in the Netherlands and Germany by the extent to which children are willing to use violence. Muslims are in many ways different from Europeans.”

Lecture
Fifty people have come to attend Udo Ulfkotte’s lecture in an out-of-the-way hall in a poor Berlin district. This is where the fledgling politician, who travels far and wide and also lectures abroad, tells his tale for the umpteenth time. Just like Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders did before him, he talks of a tsunami of Islamisation. Mr Ulfkotte means to say that European governments are too easily swayed to give in to the demands of radical Muslims. Where will that lead? Mr Ulfkotte goes through a long list of examples:

He claims that Germany allows polygamy among Muslims. And that some swimming pools have introduced separate opening hours for Muslims and non-Muslims. He asks himself why ‘we’ accept that some parents do not have their children innoculated.

Mr Ulfkotte does not limit himself to Germany. The Netherlands is up next: “Amsterdam has cancelled education on rural life”he says, because pigs were part of the discussion during these classes and that was an affront to Muslim schoolchildren. Mr Ulfkotte claims the affair escalated to the point where the curriculum was changed.

It’s an example of how he only tells half the story. Yes, there was one school in Amsterdam where this occurred, but Mr Ulfkotte fails to mention that the Amsterdam authorities were furious about the incident. A spokesperson for the responsible councillor says this must never happen again because you cannot solve problems that way.

Political party
Mr Ulfkotte says he has around 500 supporters and has plans to form a political party, the name of which is yet to be revealed. He says he has no intention of sitting in parliament, but hopes to pressure other parties into adopting his programme and turning against Islamisation in Germany. “If that doesn’t happen, I hope we will be strong enough to do it ourselves, he says.

His audience likes what he has to say. His words are frequently interrupted by applause, and afterwards several people say they have learned something. But not everybody is pleased. Two Muslim students from the Berlin Free University are also listening to his speech and later accuse Ulfkotte of being racist. “He tries to paint an evil picture of Islam and conducts a witch hunt against Islam.”Radical Islam
She disputes that Mr Ulfkotte is only denouncing radical Islam. According to her, he makes Muslims in general appear in a bad light. “He is peddling conspiracy theories here.”She compares Mr Ulfkotte to the far-right NPD. “It would be dangerous if he formed a party.”Which could happen in the coming weeks, ahead of the 2009 presidential election.